The Justus Lipsius, for the likely 99% of Europeans who don´t know what it is, is the building of the European Council in Brussels (the percentage of Europeans who know what the European Council is may be slightly higher).
A rainbow over it may indicate, according to a tweet by Juncker´s Chief of Staff Martin Selmayr, that a breakthrough to the Greek impasse may be in the making.
Yet the tone of Tusk and Juncker, appearing before the press, was sombre.
This is was Tusk said:
“We met tonight to discuss the serious situation in Greece.
Following the Greek referendum, Alexis Tsipras agreed to apply for a new bailout including strict conditionality.
Greece will set out, by Thursday 9th July at the latest, its reform plans.
Heads of state and government will meet on Sunday 12 July.
All sides of the negotiations share responsibility for the current status quo…that is why today I called leaders to try to find a consensus which will be our common success with no losers or winners.
If that doesn’t happen, it will mean the end of the negotiations with all the possible consequences including the worst case scenario where all of us will lose.
Our inability to find agreement may lead to the bankruptcy of Greece and the insolvency of its banking system. And for sure, it will be most painful for the Greek people.
I have no doubt that this will affect all of Europe, also in the geo-political sense.
If someone has any illusion that it will not be so, they are naive.
The stark reality is that they only have five days to find the ultimate agreement.
Until now I avoided talking about deadlines, but tonight I have to say it loud and clear – the final deadline ends this week. All of us are responsible for the crisis, and all of us have a responsibility to resolve it.“
It sounded like the final ultimatum to Greece.
